Harbor Seals

Harbor Seal | Poulsbo, WA

Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) are found all over temerate and arctic marine coastlines of the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the Baltic and North Seas. You can often see the laying out on the shore or docks basking in the sun to help regulate their body temperature.

Harbor seals are known to spend several days at sea finding prey fish such as anchovy, sea bass, herring, and menhaden, among other species. They will even eat the occasional crab, mollusk or squid, if needed. These seals can also be found traveling up large coastal rivers in search of food, but rarely spend ample time in fresh water.

In summer, Harbor seal mothers usually give birth to a single pup at a relatively remote haul-out site. This “pupping” occurs from July through September in southern Puget Sound, and in June and July along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the San Juan Islands. Mother seals nurse their pup, which can be born weighing as little as 15 pounds, for three to six weeks. Their mother often leaves the pup alone on the beach while she heads back to the water for a meal, returning when she has finished catching and consuming her meal to nurse her pup with rich milk.

Harbor seal basking in the son | Poulsbo, WA

While the mother is out finding a meal, you may find the pup on the beach looking like it’s abandoned, looking at you with big, sad eyes and often crying for its mother with a sheep-like “ma-a-a”. People may assume it’s crying to them, and come close to see if the pup is in danger. In the majority of cases, the pup is far from helpless. However, since seals are largely defenseless when on land, the shy mother may not return to the beach if she sees people or dogs hanging around her baby and thinks it might be unsafe to do so.  She may also nurse the pup at night if there is human interference during the day.

Harbor seals have a very high mortality rate in their first few months of life, and up to half of all harbor seals do not survive their first year after birth. Their population in Puget Sound is very healthy, estimated at up to 14,000 seals, and the Oregon/Washington outer coast stock is estimated to be 25,000 individuals. There are 3,000 – 5,000 harbor seal pups born in Washington inland waters each year.

Rocky Mountain Goats

Mountain goats grazing on alpine vegetation

Goat? Nay. Not even close actually. The mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus), also know as the Rocky Mountain goat, is actually a member of the antelope family. Yup, "home on the range" antelopes. This large-hoofed mammal is only found in the subalpine to alpine zones of western mountain ranges in North America. Predators aren't a problem due to extreme alpine conditions during the winter, but they have to be wary when the snow melts. Thanks to sure-footedness from pliable hooves with rubbery pads and muscular forequarters, these mountain champions can conquer craggy rock surfaces where predators cannot follow. More mountain goats actually die from avalanches and rockslides than predation. Being herbivores, they spend most of their time grazing herbs, grasses, lichen, sedges, ferns, mosses, twigs and leaves. A double layer fur coat helps it survive extreme cold temperatures at high elevation over winter, with the overcoat molting and falling off during warming months.

Mountain goats typically live in herds, which they change seasonally after mating. Nannies (females goats) tend to herd together for most of the year with their kids (yes, baby mountain goats are called kids), while males, known as billies, either go lone-wolf or travel in groups of 2 or 3. In summer, herds tend to be smaller and travel between salt licks and water sources. Nannies can be extremely territorial, fighting other nannies within the herd over food.

A nanny with her twinnies

Nannies in a herd typically undergo synchronized estrus in October to December, which means they all go into "heat" at the same time and are ready to mate. Knowing sexy-time is around the corner, mature males join the female herds at this time. Males often go through mating rituals that includes staring at the females (I mean, who doesn't), digging ruts in the ground with their hooves and showy fights with other males, often involving locking horns. Both males and females are highly promiscuous and will mate with multiple individuals over the course of the entire mating season. However, males will often try to fend off other males from mating with females they've already mated with.

Gestation takes around 150 to 180 days, or 5 to 6 months. After separating itself from the herd, a nanny typically gives birth to a single kid, with twins (called twinnies) typically a rarity. After birth, kids are expected to get on their feet within a few hours before the nanny heads back to the herd. Kids stay with their for about a month, with some staying as long as till the next breeding season. If the kid is still around by the following breeding season, the mother will chase it away. When observing a herd, one can often see kids playing and jumping around with each other.

Month old twinnies resting at midday

Interesting tid-bits

• After the age of 22 months, you can tell how old a mountain goat is by counting the number of rings on its horns
• Can jump nearly 12 feet in a single bound.
• Both males and females have horns.
• Both sexes are not sexually mature till 30 months, old compared to other hoofed megafauna.
• Eagles may occasionally try to chase a kid off of a cliff for a meal.